livelong — also live long, c.1400, lefe longe (day), from leve, lief dear (see LIEF (Cf. lief)), used here as an emotional intensive + LONG (Cf. long) (adj). From late 16c. conformed in spelling to live (v.) as lief grew strange. German has cognate die… … Etymology dictionary

livelong — lifelong, livelong Lifelong (19c) is a combination of life and long, and means ‘lasting or continuing for a lifetime’ (his lifelong companion). Livelong, pronounced liv long, is a much older word (15c) and is a combination of lief, meaning ‘dear … Modern English usage

livelong — adjective Etymology: Middle English lef long, from lef dear + long more at lief Date: 15th century whole, entire < the livelong day > … New Collegiate Dictionary

livelong — live|long [ˈlıvlɔŋ US lo:ŋ] adj [Date: 1300 1400; Origin: lief dear (11 19 centuries) (from Old English leof) (influenced by LIVE1) + long] all the livelong day old fashioned a phrase meaning all day , used when this seems like a long time to you … Dictionary of contemporary English

livelong — live|long [ lıv,lɔŋ ] adjective all the livelong day MAINLY LITERARY used for emphasizing how long a period of time seems to last … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English